Method for using scheduled hyperlinks to record multimedia content

ABSTRACT

A method of establishing communications with one or more devices located in an environment using a wireless communication device is disclosed. The wireless communication device comprises a short-range transceiver that is able to communicate with a short-range transceiver located in the environment. A communication is received from the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication device that includes a request to establish communications with one or more device located in the environment. A request is transmitted to an environment directory server to determine if a user associated with the wireless communication device has permission to access any of the devices in the environment. A response is received from the environment directory server in response to the request. A communication is made to the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication device indicating whether the device can communicate with any of the devices in the environment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/118,656, filed Apr. 29, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,519,680 which is adivisional of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.09/906,252, filed Jul. 16, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,312, where eachof the above cited applications is herein incorporated by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to scheduled multimedia content, and moreparticularly, to a method that allows a user to use a hyperlink toaccess scheduled multimedia content by being able to locally recordselected multimedia content on a designated information appliance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, many people have embraced the information age and depend uponmultimedia devices to provide them with a means to receive currentinformation as well as the ability to communicate with other people.Many homes now include at least one personal computer and television. Inaddition, many people own Set Top Boxes (STB), Digital Video Disc (DVD)players and equipment such as cameras, scanners and software forenabling their personal computers and televisions to be used asmultimedia communication devices.

In addition, many offices, hotels and airplanes are equipped withmultimedia equipment which may be used for either business or pleasure.It is a natural progression, that people will want to be able to viewparticular multimedia content at a particular time and at a particularplace (e.g., view a broadcast program while in flight). While thecurrent technology allows for users to schedule a viewing of aparticular program at a particular time (e.g., video recorders), thecurrent technology does not conveniently allow for scheduling theavailability of multimedia content on a designated device, which may ormay not be operated by the user, at a particular time.

In order to achieve this goal of being able to view multimedia contentat a particular time and a particular place, there must be a mechanismfor identifying the available multimedia content and for recording thecontent locally at the place in which the content is to be viewed. Whileproducts such as TiVo™ allow for the scheduled viewing of multimediacontent on a local recording device, TiVo™ does not currently allow forthe scheduled viewing of multimedia content on a variety of deviceslocated in a variety of places and which may be operated by more thanone entity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method of scheduling to recordmultimedia content on a first device via a second wireless communicationdevice. The wireless communication device includes a short rangewireless transceiver that is able to communicate with a short rangewireless transceiver co-located in the environment of the first devicein order to schedule the recording of content on the first device. Thewireless communication device also includes a long range wirelesstransceiver that is able to retrieve a web page containing a listing ofmultimedia content provided by one or more content providers. Eachlisting of multimedia content includes one or more scheduled hyperlinks.Each scheduled hyperlink corresponds to particular multimedia content.In response to selection of a scheduled hyperlink, a scheduled hyperlinkfile is retrieved that contains scheduling information pertaining toparticular multimedia content. A web page is communicated to thewireless communication device that contains one or more web addressescorresponding to an environment that is accessible by the user. Inresponse to selection of a web address corresponding to a particularenvironment, a second web page is communicated to the wirelesscommunication device that contains one or more web addressescorresponding to a device located at the selected environment. Inresponse to selection of a web address corresponding to the firstdevice, a third web page is communicated to the wireless communicationdevice that includes a listing of all content recorded on the firstdevice, a listing of all content scheduled to be recorded on the firstdevice and an indication of the available storage time on the firstdevice. If there is enough storage time on the first device, acommunication is received from the wireless communication devicerequesting that the selected content be scheduled to be stored on thefirst device.

The present invention is also directed to a method of establishingcommunications with one or more devices located in an environment usinga wireless communication device. The wireless communication devicecomprises a short-range transceiver that is able to communicate with ashort-range transceiver located in the environment. A communication isreceived from the short-range transceiver of the wireless communicationdevice that includes a request to establish communications with one ormore device located in the environment. A request is transmitted to anenvironment directory server to determine if a user associated with thewireless communication device has permission to access any of thedevices in the environment. A response is received from the environmentdirectory server in response to the request. A communication is made tothe short-range transceiver of the wireless communication deviceindicating whether the device can communicate with any of the devices inthe environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the accompanying figures in which like reference numeralsindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system architecture for creatinghyperlinks to scheduled multimedia content in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless system architecture for creatinghyperlinks to scheduled multimedia content in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the systemof FIG. 1 which includes scheduled hyperlinks in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the systemof FIG. 1 which includes a list of environments in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the systemof FIG. 1 which includes a list of devices associated with anenvironment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a web page that includes statisticspertaining to a particular device in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the web page of FIG. 6 in which contentassociated with the device is to be deleted in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the web page of FIG. 6 in which the updatedstatistics associated with the device are displayed in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing of theenvironments associated with a particular user in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing ofenvironment IDs and their associated locations in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing of devicesin a particular environment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a table listing the people and permissionlevels associated with a particular environment in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGS. 13-15 are illustrations of message sequences between the user'sweb browser and a plurality of servers in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a web page presented to a user that listsoptions for obtaining desired content and alternatives to that contentin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating how SIP is used to communicatebetween two information appliances in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a message sequence between the user's web browserand a plurality of servers in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an email message from a teacher to students thatincludes a scheduled hyperlink in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart that depicts the steps required to recordscheduled content via a scheduled hyperlink communicated in an emailmessage in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) access networkwhich can be used to record scheduled content in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 22 is a more detailed block diagram of the cable headend of FIG. 21in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a more detailed block diagram of the set top box of FIG. 21in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 24 is a flow chart that depicts the steps required to recordscheduled content via a scheduled hyperlink using a wireless device inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a method and system for creatinghyperlinks for recording and viewing scheduled multimedia content wherethe multimedia content is stored on a designated information appliance.

System Architecture

FIG. 1 is an illustrative embodiment of a system architecture for whicha user desiring to record and view multimedia content in accordance withthe present invention can be implemented. The user may be at anenvironment 102 which can be a home or a business office or any otherlocation which is occupied by the user and have access to a plurality ofinformation appliances 104, 106, 108, 110. The information appliancesmay include, but are not limited to personal computers, televisions, SetTop Boxes (STBs), television originated Internet access packages such asMicrosoft's™ WebTV™, Digital Video Disc (DVD) players, and Compact Disk(CD) players which are each networked together via a Local Area Network(LAN) 116. The information appliance may also be a wireless device (seeFIG. 2) such as a wireless telephone with Internet capability, ahandheld organizer or personal communication device as will be discussedin greater detail hereinafter.

Each information appliance 104, 106, 108, 110 may be located in the sameroom or one or more information appliances may be located in differentrooms. The user may also have access to information appliances 120, 122located in one or more different environments, such as environment 118.Each information appliance includes memory (not shown) that can be usedto store multimedia content, and access to an interface (e.g., SIP useragent 114 in device 104) used to communicate with other devices. In somecases, the interface may be used to communicate with network servers(e.g., scheduled hyperlink server 138 or email server 144) as will bedescribed in detail hereinafter. Furthermore, some of the devices mayinclude a web browser (e.g., device 106) that is used to communicate tonetwork servers over a network, such as the Internet.

Each information appliance is also identifiable by a network address,such as, but not limited to, an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Inaccordance with the present invention, the appliance may be identifiedby a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) address as will be explained indetail hereinafter. Within a given environment, the informationappliances are networked together via a home network. Standards fordefining home network arrangements have been provided by variousorganizations.

For example, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) hasdefined standards for physical media, data link layers, mid-layerprotocols and other services such as directories, control, networkmanagement and security required for setting up such a home network.These standards can be found at http://www.vesa.org and are incorporatedby reference. External access networks such as telephone (PSTN), cableTV, broadcast TV and direct-broadcast satellite can interface with thehome network via access devices such as residential gateways or cablemodems.

The information appliances 104, 106, 108, 110 are connected to variousnetwork servers via access networks 124. In the present example, theaccess networks 124 connect the user to a plurality of servers 130, 132,134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144 which are used to implement the presentinvention and to content provider networks 152 which contain themultimedia content that the user wishes to store locally on one of hisassociated devices. The access networks 124 may comprise the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Digital Subscriber Link (xDSL),Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC), fixed wireless, Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Network (ATM), frame relaynetwork, wireless network, cable network or any other type of suitabletransmission means. The plurality of servers 130, 132, 134, 136, 138,140, 142, 144 may be operated by a single entity or a number ofdifferent entities without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention.

Using one of the information appliances 106 (for exemplary purposes itis assumed that the appliance is a personal computer (PC)), a userestablishes a connection with IP network 150 via a Point of Presence(POP) (not shown) which is typically operated and maintained by anOnline Service Provider (OSP). The POP may illustratively, be a serverwhich is connected to the IP network 150, or may be any other serverused for providing access to the IP network 150. The user's informationappliance 106 may include a monitor, keyboard, microphone, mouse, cameraor other equipment necessary to implement various software applicationsor modes of communication. The POP provides access to the IP network 150by providing software to information appliance 106, which allows theinformation appliance 106 to access the IP network 150.

When a user wishes to access the IP network 150, the user types in acommand that causes the information appliance 106 to dial into the POP.The POP requires that the user be authenticated prior to gaining accessto the IP network 150. It is to be understood by those skilled in theart that any type of authentication means can be used. For example, thePOP may request a user identification code and password that is verifiedby the POP. The POP then acts as a gateway to provide the user access tothe IP network 150. The information appliance 106 is connected to thePOP via the access networks 124.

A user that is connected to the Internet may cause a program known as aclient to request resources that are part of the World Wide Web. Thecollection of all such publicly available resources, linked togetherusing files written in Hypertext Mark-up Language (“HTML”), is known asthe World Wide Web (“web”). Server programs then process the requests toreturn the specified resources. A standard naming convention has beenadopted, known as a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”). This conventionencompasses several types of location names, presently includingsubclasses such as Hypertext Transport Protocol (“http”), File TransportProtocol (“ftp”), gopher and Wide Area Information Service (“WAIS”).

As illustrated, the IP network 150 is connected to one or more webservers 134 which may host a plurality of online information services,software applications or web sites. In accordance with the presentinvention, the web servers 134 are also used to store web pages thatinclude scheduled hyperlinks as will be described in greater detailhereinafter. These web pages may be provided directly from the contentproviders (e.g., broadcast television stations) or may be created byentities that aggregate content information to be disclosed to theviewing community (e.g., TV guide). It is to be understood by thoseskilled in the art that many web servers may be connected to the IPnetwork 150 in a known configuration and accessed by the user.

A scheduled hyperlink server 138 dynamically generates web pages thatprovide information to the user about environments and devices which areaccessible to the user. The scheduled hyperlink server 138 alsocoordinates the actions of the various servers that are required toimplement the scheduled hyperlinks. Such actions may include programminga particular device to record scheduled content as requested by theuser.

A user directory server 132 maintains one or more databases that definethe environments that are available to each user. As will be describedin detail hereinafter, the user directory server 132 can be updated bythe reservation server 142 with regard to transient environments (i.e.,environments which may be temporarily available to the user). Anenvironment directory server 136 defines the devices that are availablein each environment. Each server may be operated by the entity whichcontrols the environment (e.g., airline, hotel) or access to theenvironment (e.g., ISP).

A SIP location server 140 maintains databases that map a SIP URL for aparticular device to an IP address associated with a SIP proxy server130. The SIP proxy servers 130 are situated between public and privatenetworks and are used in the communication of two appliances or thescheduled hyperlink server 138 and one or more appliances. In somecases, the appliance may include a SIP user agent that is identified bya SIP URL and is used to facilitate the communication with other SIPuser agents. An email server 144 also allows for scheduled hyperlinks tobe communicated between users via email messages as will be described indetail hereinafter.

As indicated above the information appliance may be a wireless device asillustrated in FIG. 2. A wireless information appliance 210 can be usedto program one or more devices 202, 204, 206 within an environment 200in which the wireless device 210 is located to record scheduled content.The environment 200 may be at the user's home or office, or may be atransient environment such as a hotel room or conference room. Inaccordance with the present invention, the environment would include ashort-range wireless transceiver 218 that periodically transmits the URLof the current environment to the device 210. The short-range wirelesstransceivers 216, 218 may use wireless technology such as that developedby the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group.

A short-range wireless transceiver 216 is also included in the wirelessdevice 210 that is capable of communicating with the short-rangewireless transceiver 218 in the environment 200. The wireless device 210may be, but is not limited to, a wireless telephone with Internetcapability or a handheld personal communication unit. A web browser 212is included in the wireless device 210 to allow the device to retrieveweb pages from the Internet 224.

The wireless device 210 uses a long-range wireless transceiver 214 tocommunicate URLs to the Internet 224 via a wireless access network 220.As with any device, communications from the wireless device 210 arecommunicated to a proxy server 222 that registers the location of thewireless device 222 and transports communications to and from thewireless device 210.

Prior to the user of the wireless device 210 being able to schedule therecording of multimedia content on one of the devices within theenvironment 200, a query is sent to the user directory server 226 todetermine if the user has permission to record content on any or all ofthe devices 202, 204, 206 in the environment. If the user has theappropriate permissions, recording of content can be scheduled as willbe described in detail hereinafter. In the case of a transientenvironment, such as a conference room or hotel room, the user may havepermission to access the devices 202, 204, 206, but the permission maybe only for a limited period of time.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed from theperspective of a user of an information appliance. It is to beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the invention could bedescribed from the perspective of any of the information appliancesmentioned above or illustrated in FIG. 1 or 2. A user of informationappliance 106 wishes to record scheduled multimedia content on adesignated information appliance which may or may not be informationappliance 106 and view the recorded multimedia content on thatinformation appliance at a later time.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) User Agents and Proxy Server

In accordance with the present invention, SIP user agents are used tocommunicate messages between the scheduled hyperlink server 138 and atleast one information appliance located within a given environment(e.g., device 104 in environment 102). SIP is an Internet EngineeringTask Force (IETF) protocol standard which can be used to create, modifyand terminate multimedia sessions and is described in “SIP:Understanding the Session Initiation Protocol”, by Johnston, Artech,2001 which is incorporated by reference. Each information appliance orserver which includes a SIP user agent is identifiable by a SIP URLwhich has the format of sip:devicename@environment ID.isp.com. The SIPuser agent is capable of receiving and responding to requests from a SIPuser agent 146 associated with the scheduled hyperlink server 138. Suchrequests might include requests to list content, record program anddelete content as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 17, in order for an information device to communicatewith other devices, the SIP user agent must be registered and recognizedby a SIP location server 1712. For discussion purposes, a user(Ann@att.com) is using an information appliance 1702 (e.g., phone) thatincludes a SIP user agent 1704. The SIP user agent 1704 sends a message1730 to a SIP proxy server 1711 indicating that the associatedinformation appliance 1702 wishes to establish communication with otherdevices. The SIP proxy server selected is based on the proximity of theproxy server to the device and it is contemplated that a plurality ofSIP proxy servers would be geographically disbursed for ease ofcommunication. The SIP proxy server 1711 forwards the message 1732 to aSIP registration server 1714 that resides in the SIP location server1712.

The SIP registration server 1714 includes a database of all registeredSIP user agents as well as a list of users who are able to access aparticular SIP user agent. If the SIP user agent and user are found inthe SIP registration server 1714, the device, user name and location ofthe information appliance 1702 is stored in a location database 1716. Assuch, when another user (e.g., Joe@att.com—Joe) wishes to contactAnn@att.com (Ann), then the SIP location server will know where todirect the communication.

When Joe wants to communicate with Ann, the SIP user agent 1708associated with Joe's information appliance 1706 sends a message 1736 tothe SIP proxy server 1710 which is geographically closest to theinformation appliance 1706. The SIP proxy server 1710 forwards a message1738 to the SIP location server 1712. The SIP registration server 1714determines whether Joe's SIP user agent 1708 can communicate with Ann'sSIP user agent 1704. Such a determination may be based on a number offactors including permission levels, availability of Ann, etc., for agiven user. If Joe's SIP user agent 1708 is able to communicate withAnn's SIP user agent 1704, then a lookup 1740 is performed in thelocation database 1716 to determine the location of the informationappliance 1702 and the SIP proxy server 1711 closest to the appliance1702. Next, a message 1742, 1744 is sent from the SIP registrationserver 1714 to the SIP proxy server 1711 and finally to the informationappliance 1702. A communication channel is then established betweenJoe's SIP user agent 1708 and Ann's SIP user agent 1704.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, it isalso possible for communication from one SIP user agent to another SIPuser agent to be applied to a device that does not have a SIP useragent. In arranging for the recording of multimedia content on differentinformation appliances, it is conceivable that relatively simple devices(e.g., televisions, stereos, etc.), which do not have SIP user agents,would be the designated device by the user for recording the desiredmultimedia content. In accordance with the present invention, deviceswhich do not have SIP user agents can be connected to devices that dohave SIP user agents (e.g., set top boxes) and communication can occurbetween the SIP user agent of the set top and the SIP user agent 146 ofthe scheduled hyperlink server 138 for arranging viewing of content onthe device. As long as at least one appliance in a particularenvironment has a SIP user agent, and the appliances are networkedtogether via a Local Area Network (LAN) or other similar arrangement,then the device without the SIP user agent can be controlled by thedevice with the SIP user agent.

FIGS. 21-23 illustrate an exemplary Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) network thatincludes a SIP-enabled set top box in accordance with the presentinvention. An environment 2114, includes one or more devices 2118 whichare connected to a set top box 2116. The set top box 2116 is connectedto an amplifier 2110 via a coax cable 2112. The amplifier 2110 amplifiesthe signals transmitted to and from the set top box 2116. The amplifier2110, in turn, is connected via coax cable 2108 to a fiber optic node2106. The fiber optic node 2108 is connected by fiber to a cable headend2102. The cable headend 2102 is the originating point of a signal in thecable television system. The cable headend 2102 may receivetransmissions from analog television 2120, digital television 2130, PSTN2140 and the IP network 2150. In other words, scheduled content istransmitted from the cable headend 2102 to the set top box 2116 to berecorded for later viewing.

FIG. 22 is a more detailed block diagram of cable headend 2102. Thecable headend 2102 includes a firewall 2202 that acts as a filter to theIP network 2150 and determines what communications can be received bythe set top box 2116 and other devices that are connected to the headend2102. The firewall 2202 includes a number of proxy servers including anHTTP proxy server 2204, SIP proxy server 2206 and a media proxy server2208. The HTTP proxy server determines which web pages may betransmitted via the cable headend 2102. The SIP proxy server 2206 isused to establish communication with SIP user agents connected to thecable headend 2102. The media proxy server 2208 determines which contentproviders can transmit content via the cable headend 2102.

Also included in the cable headend 2102 is a Cable Modem TerminationSystem (CMTS) 2212. CMTS 2212 is an element of Data Over Cable ServiceInterface Specification (DOCSIS) that has been developed for high-speeddata transfer over cable television systems. CMTS 2212 comprisesCMTS-DRFI (CMTS-Downstream RF Interface), CMTS-NSI (CMTS-Network SideInterface) and CMTS-URFI (CMTS-Upstream RF Interface) in order toprovide two-way communications. An operation support system 2210 andsecurity and access controller 2214 are also included in the cableheadend 2102 to provide additional provisioning capabilities.

FIG. 23 is a more detailed block diagram of set top box 2116. Includedin the set top box 2116 is a SIP user agent 2306 for communication withthe scheduled hyperlink server 138 as well as other devices. An HTTPserver 2304 allows the set top box 2116 to request and retrieve URLsfrom the Internet. The set top box 2116 includes a number of interfaces2310, 2312, 2314, 2316 and 2318 that can be used to connect to otherdevices 2320, 2330, 2340, 2350, 2360. A more detailed description of settop box technology is disclosed in “OpenCable Architecture”, by MichaelAdams, CiscoPress, 1999 which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety. As indicated above, SIP messages can be used to communicatebetween two or more SIP user agents. In accordance with the presentinvention, SIP is enhanced by using the protocol to transport SimpleObject Access Protocol (SOAP) messages in order to invoke activity onSIP-enabled devices. Details pertaining to SOAP, in particular SOAPspecification 1.1, are located athttp://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/general/SOAPspec.asp which is incorporatedby reference. SOAP message have the general form as follows:

<SOAP:Envelope...> <SOAP:Header> ... </SOAP:Header> <SOAP:Body> ...</SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

As indicated above, in accordance with the present invention SIP isenhanced by using SOAP messages. The SIP messages take the followinglisting. The message includes the SIP URL of the sender and recipient.It also specifies the type of the content (viz. text/xml-SOAP).

APPLICATION sip:livingroomstb@att.com SIP/2.0 Via: --- From: Ann<sip:ann@att.com> To: Device <sip:livingroomstb@att.com> Call-ID: ---CSeq: 1 APPLICATION Content-Type: text/xml-SOAP Content-Length: --- SOAPmessage

The SIP-enhanced SOAP messages are communicated between SIP user agentsin order to have the various devices and servers perform functionsnecessary to the implementation of the present invention. Such functionsinclude the ability to identify content stored on various devices,storage availability on those devices, initiate the recording of contenton a designated device, and retrieval of the content from the contentproviders servers.

Example #1

An example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to record scheduledmultimedia content on a designated information appliance will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1-8. A user that desires to recordscheduled multimedia content (e.g., a television program) retrieves aweb page from web server 134 by inputting the appropriate URLcorresponding to the web page address for a particular broadcaster(e.g., www.channel50.com). The web page is displayed on the user'sinformation appliance 106. An example of a web page is illustrated inFIG. 3. Included on the web page is identification of the contentprovider or broadcaster 320, the date 325 for which the multimediacontent is scheduled to be broadcast, the content (e.g., program name)302, 304, 306, 308 and the times 330, 332, 334, 336 at which it is to bebroadcast.

In accordance with the present invention, the program name 302, 304,306, 308 is a scheduled hyperlink that can be selected by user. In thepresent example, it is assumed that the user selects the program“Raiders of the Lost Ark” as the content that is to be recorded. Thescheduled hyperlink refers to a scheduled hyperlink file that is storedon a scheduled hyperlink server 138. The URL for the scheduled hyperlinkuses the following format:http://www.server1.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch, where .schrepresents a new type of hyperlink. The scheduled hyperlink identifiesboth a scheduled hyperlink server 138 (viz.http://www.server1.com) and ascheduled hyperlink file (viz.raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch).

The scheduled hyperlink file is, for example, an XML file as shown inthe following example. The <name> tag defines the title of the content.Several options for receiving this content are delimited by <option>tags. The first option is television media. The <channel>, <date>,<time>, and <duration> values specify how to receive this televisionprogram. The second option is radio media. The <frequency>, <date>,<time> and <duration> values specify how to receive this radio program.The third option is streaming media. The <url> value specifies how toreceive this Internet content. An alternative is also provided. The<url> value provides a scheduled hyperlink to the desired content. Thatscheduled hyperlink may contain multiple options and alternatives ofboth formats and locations for retrieving that content.

<scheduled-hyperlink> <name> Raiders of the Lost Ark</name> <option><type>television</type> <channel>50</channel> <date>02-26-01</date><time>21:00 EST</time> <duration>2 hours</duration> </option> <option><type>radio</type> <frequency>1010</frequency> <date>03-10-01</date><time>20:00 EST</time> <duration>2 hours</duration> </option> <option><type>internet</type><url>http://www.streamingserver.com/raiders.sdp</url>  </option> <alternative> <url>http://www.server1.com/temple-of-doom.sch</url></alternative> </scheduled-hyperlink>

The scheduled hyperlink file may also contain reference to otherscheduled hyperlink files having the following format:

<scheduled-hyperlink><url>http://www.movies.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch</url></scheduled-hyperlink>This referencing capability allows a content provider to host both thecontent and the scheduled hyperlink file on their web site.

Referring back to the present example, once the user has selected thecontent to be recorded, a web page is presented to the user (FIG. 4),which provides the user with a listing of the environments in which thescheduled multimedia content can be recorded and viewed. The web pageprovides a listing of the selected content 402 and a list of theenvironments 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 in which the content can be storedand viewed. The environments associated with a particular user areidentified by querying data stored in a user directory server 132 and anenvironment directory server 136.

The user directory server 132 contains information about each user thatis necessary to provide the user with, among other things, the abilityto record and view multimedia content on a particular informationappliance. Included in the user directory server 132 are tables thatcontain information such as, but not limited to, the user's name,address, telephone number(s), email address, and preference information.Also included in the user directory server 132 is a list of theenvironments in which the user has access. Each environment isidentified by a URL (e.g., http://www.airline.com/environments/4589732).Included in the URL is an identification (ID) that is unique to thatenvironment (i.e., 4589732). It is to be understood by those skilled inthe art that access to a particular information appliance may betemporary (e.g., an appliance on an airplane) or permanent (e.g., a homeset top box). Accordingly, a table (FIG. 9) contained within the userdirectory server 132 lists the environments 904 accessible by the user902 and whether the environment is transient 906. If the environment istransient, an expiration time and date 908 is provided.

The user selects an environment (e.g., home which is listed as URLhttp://www.isp.com/environments/6541973) by clicking on hyperlink 404(FIG. 4) and another web page is presented to the user (FIG. 5) thatprovides a listing of the devices located in that environment.Information pertaining to devices located in a particular environment isstored in the environment directory server 136. A table (FIG. 10)contains a list of environment IDs 1002 and the corresponding location1004 of each environment (e.g., home). Another table (FIG. 11)identifies the particular devices 1104 associated with a givenenvironment ID 1102, the URL 1106 for the particular device (e.g.,sip:livingroomstb@6541973isp.com), and the group ID 1108 assigned to thedevice.

The group ID 1108 corresponds to a table (FIG. 12), which provides alist of the users 1204 which may access the device and the permissions1206 associated with each user. For example, the user Joe O'Neil has theability to configure, delete, list, record and view any content on thedevices to which he can access. However, the user Jennifer Casto mayonly view the content stored on these devices. It is to be understoodthat while the present example shows the data in the environmentdirectory server 136 as separate tables, that the data may be stored ina single table or a different combination of tables without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, SIP-enhanced SOAP messages maybe communicated between the scheduled hyperlink server 138 and theenvironment directory server 136 to list, add or delete permissions fora given user. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art, thateach SOAP message described below would include an appropriate SIPheader as described in detail above.

The following message may be used to request a list of permissionsavailable to users of a particular environment:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:ListPermissions> </m:ListPermissions> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The environment directory server 136 would return the followingresponse:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body>  <ListPermissionsResponse> <permission><name>Default</name> <rights>None</rights>  </permission>  <permission><name>Joe O'Neil</name>  <rights> Record</rights> </permission><permission> <name>John Casto</name> <rights>Record, List, View,Delete</rights> </permission> <permission> <name>Jennifer Casto</name><rights> View</rights> </permission> </ListPermissionsResponse></SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The following message can be used to request that permission levels beadded for a particular user:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:AddPermissions> <permission><name>Jennifer Casto</name> <rights>View</rights> </permission> </m:AddPermissions > </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The environment user directory 136 would respond with the followingmessage:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body>  <AddPermissionsResponse></AddPermissionsResponse> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The following message can be used to delete permission levels for aparticular user:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:DeletePermissions> <permission><name>Jennifer Casto</name> <rights>View</rights> </permission></m:DeletePermissions > </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The environment directory server 136 would respond with the followingmessage:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <DeletePermissionsResponse> </DeletePermissionsResponse> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

In the present example (FIG. 5), the devices available for storing themultimedia content (i.e., the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark) are theliving room set top box 504, the den set top box 506 and the family roomset top box 508. Also listed with each device are the number of totalstorage hours 510 associated with each device and the number ofavailable storage hours 512 available for recording content. Each devicelisting 504, 506, 508 is a hyperlink which can be selected by the user.In the present example, the user selects the living room set top boxhyperlink 504. As a result, another web page is retrieved (FIG. 6) whichprovides additional data about that particular device.

The web page 600 provides a high level summary 602 of the storagecapacity and availability of the living room set top box. Also providedis a more detailed listing 604 of the multimedia content which has beenstored, is scheduled for recording, or is being recorded. In the presentexample, the living room set top box is capable of storing 10 hours ofmultimedia content and 9 hours has been scheduled for use. Since themovie (i.e., Raiders of the Lost Ark) requires 2 hours of storage timeand only 1 hour is available, the user must either delete some of thecontent on the living room set top box or record the movie on adifferent information appliance. To delete particular content, the userplaces an “x” in the box associated with the particular content.

Hyperlinks 606, 608, 610, 612, 614 are presented on the web page 600 inorder to allow the user to perform other content managementcapabilities. An environments hyperlink 606 allows the user to viewother environments that the user has access to and in which he mayrecord content. A devices hyperlink 608 allows the user to view thedevices on which the user can record content as well as the contentwhich may already be stored on the device or which is scheduled to bestored on that particular device. A record hyperlink 610 allows the userto schedule recording of the content on the device. A configurehyperlink 612 allows the user to assign, configure, delete, list,record, and view permissions for individual and groups. An emailhyperlink 614 allows the user to email the scheduled content informationto another user so that that user can record the content on a device ofhis or her choosing.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the user decides to delete content (i.e., themovie Gone With the Wind) from the memory of the living room set top boxby placing an “x” in the delete box 705 associated with that particularmovie. By doing so, the living room set top box now has 4 hours ofstorage time available and the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” can nowbe easily recorded on this device.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the web page 600 is updated to reflect thechange in the programming of the living room set top box. As a result ofscheduling the recording “Raiders of the Lost Ark” instead of “Gone withthe Wind”, there are now 2 hours of storage time available on the livingroom set top box. At the appropriate time, the movie is recorded on theliving room set top box and can be viewed at the user's discretion.

Message Sequence

The messaging sequence between the user's web browser and the variousservers needed to implement the present invention will now be described.Referring specifically to FIGS. 13-15, a HyperText Transfer Protocol(HTTP) request message is communicated from the web browser (i.e.,information appliance 106) to the content provider web server 134 whichrequests a web page listing of available content from that provider(message 1301). HTTP is a well-known protocol used to retrieve documentsfrom web servers over the Internet. An HTTP response message iscommunicated from the content provider web server 134 to the user's webbrowser that includes a web page which lists the available content(message 1302). Next, an HTTP request message is communicated from theweb browser to the scheduled hyperlink server 138 which requests a webpage listing of the environments available to the user (message 1303).

In response to the HTTP request, a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP) request message is communicated by the scheduled hyperlink server138 to the user directory server 132 which requests a listing of theenvironment IDs for the user (message 1304). LDAP is a well-known openInternet standard produced by the Internet Engineering Task Force(IETF), which allows clients to read and write directory data. An LDAPresponse message is sent from the user directory server 132 to thescheduled hyperlink server 138 that provides the listing of environmentIDs for the user (message 1305).

An LDAP request message is then sent from the scheduled hyperlink server138 to each environment directory server that corresponds to the list ofenvironment IDs for the user. The message requests additional data abouteach environment ID. The data may include the name of the environment,an indication if the environment is transient, and if so, an indicationof the date and time at which it is available to the user.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, two message requests (messages 1306, 1308) totwo environment directory servers that would correspond to two of theenvironment IDs associated with the user. It is to be understood bythose skilled in the art, that for each environment ID associated withthe user, a request is transmitted by the scheduled hyperlink server 138to the appropriate environment directory server. It is also to beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the particular arrangementillustrated in this example is merely exemplary and that other suitablearrangements may be used for the scheduled hyperlink server 138 to aboutinformation about each environment associated with the user.

An LDAP response message is communicated from each queried environmentdirectory server (messages 1307, 1309), which provides the requestedinformation about that particular environment. The scheduled hyperlinkserver 138 then communicates an HTTP response message to the webbrowser, which includes the requested information (FIG. 4).

Referring to FIG. 14, in response to a user's activation of one of thehyperlinks on the web page presented to the user which corresponds to aselection of one of the environments, an HTTP message is sent from theuser's web browser to the scheduled hyperlink server 138 requesting alist of devices associated with the selected environment (message 1411).A SIP request is communicated by the scheduled hyperlink server 138 tothe SIP location server 140 that requests a list of IP addresses of SIPproxies that correspond to the SIP URLs of the devices in the selectedenvironment (message 1412). A SIP response message is communicated bythe SIP location server 140 to the scheduled hyperlink server 138 thatincludes a list of the SIP URLs for each device in the selectedenvironment and the corresponding IP address of the SIP proxy server 130associated with the device (message 1413).

For each identified device a SIP request message (ListContent) iscommunicated from the scheduled hyperlink server 138 to the SIP proxyserver associated with a particular device requesting a list of thecontents on that device (e.g., total amount of storage time, availablestorage, list of stored or scheduled content, etc.), (messages 1414,1418). As described above, the ListContent message is a SOAP message asfollows:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:ListContent> </m:ListContent></SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

A SIP request message is communicated by the SIP proxy server to the SIPuser agent associated with each particular device in that environment(messages 1415, 1419). A SIP response message is communicated by eachSIP user agent to the SIP proxy server that includes a list of the totalstorage available on the device, amount of storage available, and alisting of what is currently stored or is scheduled to be stored on thedevice (messages 1416, 1420).

The scheduled hyperlink server receives the list of devices at eachenvironment, as well as the detailed storage information for each device(messages 1417, 1421). As with the SIP request message, the response isa SOAP message as shown in the following listing. The <environment>value specifies the name of the environment. The <device> valuespecifies the name of a device in that environment. The total andavailable storage is specified by the next two values. An <item> valueprovides information about four programs. For each program, a <title>,<duration> and <status> value are defined. The <status> value indicatesif that program is stored on the device, is scheduled for recording at alater time, or is currently being recorded.

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <ListContentResponse><environment>Home</environment> <device>Living Room Set Top Box</device><total>10 Hours</total> <available>1 Hour</available> <item><title>Olympic Games Closing Ceremony</title> <duration>4Hours</duration> <status>Stored</status> <item> <item> <title>Gone withthe Wind (Part l)</title> <duration>3 Hours</duration><status>Scheduled</status> <item> <item> <title>ET</title> <duration>2Hours</duration> <status>Recording</status> <item></ListContentResponse> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

The scheduled hyperlink server sends an HTTP response message to theuser's web browser in the form of a web page (FIG. 5) that contains allof the retrieved information from the SIP user agents (message 1422).

Referring to FIG. 15, in response to a user's activation of one of thehyperlinks on the web page presented to the user which corresponds to aselection of a particular device, an HTTP message is sent from theuser's web browser to the scheduled hyperlink server 138 requesting adetailed listing of the contents stored on that particular device(message 1523). An HTTP response is communicated from the scheduledhyperlink server to the user's web browser in the form of a web page(FIG. 6) that provides the detailed information pertaining to theparticular device (message 1524).

In response to the user's selection of a check box on the web page (FIG.6), an HTTP request message is communicated to the scheduled hyperlinkserver to delete stored content on the device (message 1525). Thescheduled hyperlink server sends a SIP request message (DeleteContent)to the SIP user agent associated with the particular device to deletethe particular content (message 1526). The DeleteContent message is aSOAP message of the following form:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:DeleteContent> <name>Gone With theWind (Part I)</name> </m:DeleteContent> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

A SIP response message is communicated by the SIP user agent to thescheduled hyperlink server indicating that the content has been deleted(message 1527). The response message is a SOAP message of the followingform:

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body>  <DeleteContentResponse> <available>4Hours</available> </DeleteContentResponse> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>An HTTP response message is communicated to the user's web browser inthe form of a web page (FIG. 8) indicating that the content has beendeleted (message 1528).

In response to the user's activation of a hyperlink on the web page(FIG. 6), an HTTP request message is sent to the scheduled hyperlinkserver requesting that the selected content be recorded on the device(message 1529). A SIP request message (RecordContent) is communicated bythe scheduled hyperlink server to the SIP user agent requesting that theselected content be recorded on the device (message 1530). TheRecordContent message is a SOAP message shown in the following listing.The <name>, <channel>, <date>, <time> and <duration> values indicate thespecific program to be recorded.

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body> <m:RecordContent> <name>Raiders of theLost Ark</name> <channel>50</channel> <date>February 26, 2001</date><time>21:00 EST</time> <duration>2 hours</duration> </m:RecordContent></SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

A SIP response message is communicated by the SIP user agent to thescheduled hyperlink server indicating that the requested action has beenperformed and that the content is scheduled to be recorded on the device(message 1531). The response message is a SOAP message shown in thefollowing listing. The response specifies how much time remainsavailable on the device.

<SOAP:Envelope ...> <SOAP:Body>  <RecordContentResponse> <available>5Hours</available> </RecordContentResponse> </SOAP:Body> </SOAP:Envelope>

An HTTP message is communicated by the scheduled hyperlink server to theuser's web browser in the form of a web page (FIG. 8) indicating theupdated content information for the device (message 1532). The updatedcontent information indicates that the deleted content has been removedfrom the device storage and that the desired content is scheduled to berecorded on the device.

Example #2

A second example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to recordscheduled multimedia content on a designated information appliance willnow be described. In particular, a user will request to recordmultimedia content that has already been broadcast. Referring back toFIG. 3, it is assumed that the web page retrieved by the user includes alisting of program content that was broadcast on the previous day. Asbefore, each program listing is a hyperlink which may be accessed by theuser. The user selects the hyperlink which corresponds to the movie“Raiders of the Lost Ark”. When the scheduled hyperlink server receivesthe request initiated by the user's selection of the hyperlink, thescheduled hyperlink server queries the content provider's servers toretrieve other available broadcasts or recordings of the requestedcontent, as well as listings of alternative content that may be ofinterest to the user. A web page (FIG. 16) is presented to the user thatincludes the results of the query.

Included on the web page is a list 1602 of other content providers thathave the desired program content and when that content is available ifthe content is in the form of a broadcast. Also present to the user area list 1604 of alternative program content (i.e., movie “Indiana Jonesand the Temple of Doom”), the content providers and the date and time atwhich the content is available if the content is in the form of abroadcast. Each listing on the web page is a scheduled hyperlink thatmay be selected by the user. As in Example #1, once the user hasselected a hyperlink, a web page including a list of environments towhich the user has access is presented to the user. Once the user hasselected an environment and a device, a determination is made as towhether the device has enough storage space available to record thedesired content. If so, the content is scheduled for recording on thatdevice.

Example #3

A third example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to recordscheduled multimedia content on a transient information appliance towhich the user has access will now be described. In the present example,it is assumed that the user has scheduled a trip to Japan. Allarrangements associated with trip (e.g., limousine, airline reservationinformation, hotel information) is stored in a calendar which resides onone of the user's information appliances (e.g., PC). The SIP user agentassociated with the PC has access to the calendar information. A messageis communicated to the User Directory server 132 indicating whichenvironments (i.e., appliances accessible to the user at each of thetransient locations) may be accessible to the user and the dates andtimes at which they are accessible. For example, if the user's trip isfrom May 1-8, then the user may have access to the airplane informationappliance on May 1 and May 8 and access to the hotel informationappliance from May 2-7.

The specific message sequence is illustrated in FIG. 18. An HTTP requestmessage is communicated from a web browser to a reservations server 142(message 1801). The request can be to add, change or delete reservations(e.g., environment URLs) for a particular user. In the present example,the user is requesting that the reservations (i.e., environment URLs forthe limousine, airplane and hotel) be added to his user directory.Because these are transient environments for this user, included in therequest would be the dates and times at which the environments would beavailable to the user. The reservation server 142 is the entity that isused to approve and communicate the transient environments to the userdirectory server 132. Depending upon the entity that controls thetransient environment, it may be possible for the user to record contentprior to the user's ability to access the environment.

A LDAP request message is communicated by the reservation server 142 tothe user directory server 132 to update the list of environment URLs forthe user (message 1802). Included in the LDAP message is the URLs foreach transient environment (i.e.,http://www.airline.com/environments/4589732,http://www.limo.com/environments/3452212, andhttp://www.hotel.com/environments/12976123), and the dates and times atwhich the user is entitled to access these transient environments. AnLDAP response message is communicated from the user directory server 132to the reservation server 142 indicating that the update has been madeto the user's directory (message 1803). An HTTP response is communicatedby the reservation server 142 to a web browser indicating that theuser's directory has been updated with the requested information(message 1804).

As in the previous examples, the user accesses a web page provided bythe web server 134 by inputting the appropriate URL corresponding to theweb page address for a particular broadcaster (e.g., www.channel50.com).The user selects one of the scheduled hyperlinks corresponding to thecontent that he wishes to record. A web page is presented to the userthat lists the environments to which the user has access. Included inthe list are the transient environments described above. In the presentexample, the user selects the hyperlink corresponding to the hotel.

The user is then presented to a list of devices associated with thehotel. In accordance with the present invention, the hotel may store theselected content on a number of different devices. If the number of theroom that the user will be assigned is already known by the hotel, theuser may be able to record and store the content on a device in theroom, such as a set top box or digital video recorder. Alternatively,the hotel may have a local server on which content is recorded andstored. In addition to the content, an identification of the user wouldbe stored so that the content could be delivered to the user's roomduring the appropriate dates at a time selected by the user.

A further alternative would be to have a remote server used by multiplehotels belonging to the same hotel chain. The content is recorded andstored on the remote server and delivered to the user's room during theappropriate dates at a time selected by the user. In the alternativearrangements, it is presumed that both the server and the device in theuser's room would include SIP user agents which could be used to presentthe content to the user upon request by the user. The steps by which theuser schedules the recording of the content is the same as described inexample #1.

Example #4

A fourth example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to recordscheduled multimedia content on a transient information appliance towhich the user has access will now be described with reference to FIG.24. In the present example, the user is able to access scheduled contentin a transient environment using a wireless device. More specifically,the user accesses a mobile device, such as a cell phone with Internetcapability or handheld organizer to retrieve a web page provided by acontent provider (see FIG. 2 and accompanying description above).

A user enters a transient environment, such as a hotel room orconference with a wireless device room (step 2402). A short-rangewireless transceiver in the wireless device communicates with ashort-range wireless transceiver located in the environment in order toestablish the environment as one accessible to the user or to confirmthat the environment is accessible to the user (step 2404).

In accordance with the present invention, multiple scenarios could beenvisioned in which a user may want to record content in a transientenvironment. The transient environment may be available to the user forspecific dates and times (e.g., a hotel reservation or conference roomreservation) or more in an on-demand manner (e.g., a real-timereservation of the conference room). In the case of a pre-arrangedreservation, the user's environment server may already include theenvironment as accessible to the user. However, in the case of areal-time reservation, the environment may need to be added to theuser's environment server.

Once permission to record in the environment has been confirmed, theuser uses the wireless device to retrieve a web page containing alisting of content provided by one or more content providers (step2406). The user selects the content that he wishes to record (step2408). A web page is presented to the user listing the environmentsaccessible to the user (step 2410). The user selects the transientenvironment in which he is currently located (step 2412). Next, a webpage containing a list of devices available in the environment ispresented to the user (step 2414). It is to be understood by thoseskilled in the art that all of the devices or a subset of the devices inthe environment may be accessible to the user.

The user selects a device on which the content is to be recorded (step2416). Next, a web page is presented to the user listing the amount ofavailable storage time on the particular device. Since the user is in atransient environment which can be used by multiple users, the user maynot be able to determine what specific content is recorded or scheduledto be recorded on the device. If there is not enough time on the deviceto record the selected content, the user may either be presented with alist of content that can be deleted or may be directed to choose anotherdevice. If it is determined that there is adequate storage time torecord the selected content, the user can schedule the recording of thecontent on that device.

In accordance with the present invention, the user may be able toschedule content to be recorded and viewed at a later time provided thatthe user has access to the environment at that later time.Alternatively, the user may only be able to record and view content inthe transient environment during the time in which the user isphysically located in the environment.

Example #5

A fifth example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to communicateto one or more third parties scheduled multimedia content that can berecorded and viewed on a device of that third party's choosing will nowbe described. For example, a teacher of a distance learning course couldsend each student an email containing one or more scheduled hyperlinkscontaining material to be discussed in a later class. Alternatively,alternative means of communication between the teacher and the studentscould be used, such as, but not limited to voice mail messaging, instantmessaging, or linking to a web page specified by the teacher. As will bedescribed hereinafter, each student arranges for the scheduled contentto be recorded and viewed on a particular device. Alternatively, theteacher could decide on which device the content is to be recorded andviewed and communicate that information to each student.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, the teacher sends each student an email(FIG. 19) that includes two scheduled hyperlinks 1906, 1908 in the body1904 of the email message. Upon receipt of the email message (step2002), each scheduled hyperlink is automatically processed by theelectronic mail reader software. For each scheduled hyperlink, adetermination is made as to whether the scheduled content has alreadybeen broadcast (step 2004). If the scheduled content has been broadcast,a search is performed by the web server 134 to determine if there is analternate broadcast of the same content at a later time (step 2006). Ifthe scheduled content has not yet been broadcast, an environment anddevice are selected onto which the content is to be recorded and laterviewed (step 2008).

Once the user has identified the device, a determination is made by theSIP location server 140 as to which SIP proxy server 130 is associatedwith the selected device (step 2010). A RecordContent request message iscommunicated by the scheduled hyperlink server 146 to the SIP user agentassociated with the device via the SIP proxy server 130 (step 2012). Aconfirmation response is received by the scheduled hyperlink server fromthe SIP user agent associated with the device indicating that thecontent has been scheduled to be recorded (step 2014). In one embodimentof the present invention, the email message is annotated to include theinformation pertaining to the recording of the content (e.g., the deviceon which the content is to be stored, the time and date scheduled forrecording, etc.) (step 2016).

Either prior to or at the time at which the class is to commence, thecontent can be viewed by the user for discussion with the teacher andother students. This technique can also be used for business meetings,event planning, and family gatherings, among other things. It is alsopossible for one or more of the students to send scheduled hyperlinkscorresponding to supplemental content that may be relevant to the class.

While the present invention has been described in connection with theillustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated and understood thatmodifications may be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention. It is to be understood that the particularembodiments shown and described by way of illustration are in no wayintended to be considered limiting. Therefore, references to details ofparticular embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of theclaims, which in themselves recite only those features regarded asessential to the invention.

1. A method of scheduling to record multimedia content on a first devicevia a second device, comprising: retrieving a scheduled hyperlink file,where the scheduled hyperlink file contains scheduling informationpertaining to a particular multimedia content; communicating a first webpage to the second device, where the first web page contains a firstplurality of web addresses, where each web address of the firstplurality of web addresses corresponding corresponds to a differentenvironment which is physically accessible by a user; communicating asecond web page to the second device containing a second plurality ofweb addresses in response to a selection of a web address of the firstplurality of web addresses corresponding to a selected environment,where each web address of the second plurality of web addresses on thesecond web page corresponds to a device located at the selectedenvironment; communicating a third web page to the second device inresponse to a selection of a web address of the second plurality of webaddresses corresponding to the first device, the third web pageincluding at least one of: a listing of all content recorded on thefirst device, a listing of all content scheduled to be recorded on thefirst device, or an indication of an available storage time on the firstdevice; and if there is sufficient storage time on the first device,receiving a communication from the second device requesting that theparticular multimedia content be scheduled to be stored on the firstdevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating the secondweb page, further comprises: determining if the user has a permission toaccess the selected environment at a time corresponding to theparticular multimedia content associated with the scheduled hyperlinkfile.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein if there is an insufficientstorage time on the first device to record the particular multimediacontent, selecting a third device on which to schedule a recording ofthe selected content.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein if there is aninsufficient storage time on the first device to record the particularmultimedia content, the method further comprising: sending a command tothe first device to delete a recorded content or a content scheduled tobe recorded on the first device; and receiving a communication from thesecond device requesting that the particular multimedia content bescheduled to be stored on the first device.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the first device and the second device each includes arespective session initiation protocol user agent.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first device is a computer.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the first device is a digital video disk player.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first device is a set top box.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second device is a wireless telephonewith internet capability.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the seconddevice is a handheld organizer.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thesecond device is a wireless communication device which includes a shortrange wireless transceiver and a long range wireless transceiver. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the short range wireless transceiver ofthe second device is configured to communicate with a short rangewireless transceiver co-located in an environment with the first devicein order to schedule a recording of the particular multimedia content onthe first device.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the long rangewireless transceiver of the second device is configured to retrieve aweb page containing a listing of multimedia content provided by one ormore content providers.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the listingcomprises one or more scheduled hyperlinks, each scheduled hyperlinkcorresponding to a respective particular multimedia content.
 15. Asystem of scheduling to record multimedia content on a first device viaa second device, comprising: means for retrieving a scheduled hyperlinkfile, where the scheduled hyperlink file contains scheduling informationpertaining to a particular multimedia content; means for communicating afirst web page to the second device, where the first web page contains afirst plurality of web addresses, where each web address of the firstplurality of web addresses corresponds to a different environment whichis physically accessible by a user; means for communicating a second webpage to the second device containing a second plurality of web addressesin response to a selection of a web address of the first plurality ofweb addresses corresponding to a selected environment, where each webaddress of the second plurality of web addresses on the second web pagecorresponds to a device located at the selected environment; means forcommunicating a third web page to the second device in response to aselection of a web address of the second plurality of web addressescorresponding to the first device, the third web page including at leastone of: a listing of all content recorded on the first device, a listingof all content scheduled to be recorded on the first device, or anindication of an available storage time on the first device; and meansfor receiving a communication from the second device requesting that theparticular multimedia content be scheduled to be stored on the firstdevice if there is a sufficient storage time on the first device. 16.The system of claim 15, wherein the means for communicating the secondweb page further determines if the user has a permission to access theselected environment at a time corresponding to the particularmultimedia content associated with the scheduled hyperlink file.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15, further comprising means for selecting a thirddevice on which to schedule a recording of the particular multimediacontent if there is an insufficient storage time on the first device torecord the particular multimedia content.
 18. The system of claim 15,wherein if there is an insufficient storage time on the first device torecord the particular multimedia content, further comprising: means forsending a command to the first device to delete either a recordedcontent or a content scheduled to be recorded on the first device ifthere is an insufficient storage time on the first device to record theparticular multimedia content; and means for receiving a communicationfrom the second device requesting that the particular multimedia contentbe scheduled to be stored on the first device.
 19. The system of claim15, wherein the first device and the second device each includes arespective session initiation protocol user agent.
 20. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the first device comprises digital video disk player.